It gives the smugglers a notably different momentum, seeing them potentially zoom past their opponents in the closing stages if left to run unchecked.Īhoy’s lighter rules make for a faster and more beginner-friendly game.Īs cargo is delivered, it also increases the points netted for holding a region at the end of each round, serving as the poker that stokes the heated competition between Bluefins and Mollusks. Each piece of delivered cargo is secretly assigned to the Mollusks or Bluefins, building up to an end-of-game reveal that nets the smugglers bonus points if they match the cargo type to islands under the respective faction’s control. Vitally, that’s not where the points haul ends. Players assign dice to move, summon allies and load their cannons. They can collect cargo from one island and deliver it to another to score points, hopping two cubes around a reward grid that offers everything from extra VP and gold to extra crew, instant repairs and bonus movement. True to their name, the smugglers forgo any interest in scrapping over islands to instead quietly profit from the ongoing battle. One that serves as the crucial hinge on top of which the others seesaw. While the Mollusks and Bluefins are effectively in pursuit of the same end - holding control of each region tile to score points at the end of each round - albeit with different means, the smugglers are playing an entirely different game. (Like Root, Ahoy works best with at least one of each asymmetrical faction in play, though it’s a cleaner experience at three players than its bigger sibling.) A deck of plan cards with unique effects makes the union feel more dynamic and reactionary than its foes, able to quickly slip away from Bluefin bombardments and launch surprise counterattacks.īetween the factions at loggerheads sit one or two smugglers, depending on how many people are playing. Meanwhile, the Mollusks must incite a guerrilla uprising, rallying comrades among the inhabitants of islands and steadily amassing their fighting power - with the chance to eventually build additional gunships to help clear the waters. The Marquise-esque Bluefins control the waters like a nautical occupying force, continually dropping pesky patrols from their flagship and eventually constructing fortified strongholds that squat on islands, rendering them unusable for other players until defeated. Greg Loring-Albright’s pirate delight feels like a Root-lite with a salty hook and barnacled pegleg. Two of the players are naturally opposed as the domineering Bluefin Squadron and upstart Mollusk Union, feeling like seabound cousins of Root’s industrialised Marquise de Cat and rebellious Woodland Alliance. Image: Leder GamesĪhoy drops players into an ocean made up of square tiles, each of which is discovered and placed as their diddly wooden flagships sail beyond the starting pair of islands in the middle of the table. Players place map tiles as they explore the seas, resulting in a new layout each time. That’s absolutely meant as a compliment of the highest degree. It’s a much faster, lighter game - playing in around an hour, and taking not much longer to teach - set amongst blue waves and yellow sand rather than brown stone and orange trees.ĭig a little deeper under the sand, though, and designer Greg Loring-Albright’s pirate delight quickly starts to feel like a Root-lite with a salty hook and barnacled pegleg. Once you get past the poppy pastel characters of artist Kyle Ferrin that adorn both, anyway. On its surface, Ahoy has few similarities with Cole Werhle’s acclaimed game of cutthroat woodland tussling. Ahoy! A new board game has set sail on the tabletop seas, and it’s here to fly the flag high for approachable asymmetry.Īhoy comes from Leder Games, the studio that has made its name as arguably the foremost place to go for interesting asymmetrical board games, from the Vast dungeon-crawlers to Root and Oath.
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